The passage turned left and ended in a short, narrow hallway.
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The wooden floor creaked under our shoes, and the air smelled faintly of old wood and polish.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaW5eEiooJ
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Somewhere beyond the passage, the tour guide was still speaking, her words becoming indistinct as we rounded the corner.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6p1g1lQoN
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On the right side of the hallway, three small lamps hung from the ceiling. Each one made a circle of yellow light on the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOawQP5ZhE
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Two people were already standing there — an elderly couple, under the first lamp.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPmOkWXHsd
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"Oh," Mia whispered. "There are three paintings. Why would they hide them back here?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdctipmMDI
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I stopped near the entrance while my friends walked closer.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyOQYN9EDz
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* * *
For a moment, I thought Mia was teasing me. But she had already turned towards the elderly couple, listening with the same attention she had given the guide.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP45YBeIOd
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The old woman pointed at the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wBkpVqow1
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"What a beautiful dress," she said to her husband. "That blue looks lovely next to the roses."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjgRzS6cn9
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Her husband frowned. "Blue? The dress is green. And there are no roses."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawjyjDQhKX
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She laughed softly. "You really do need new glasses, dear."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdzGzxvpD1
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Then she took his arm, and they walked slowly past us towards the way out. Mia stepped aside for them. Neither acknowledged her.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNg9P6bKh1
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Mia waited until they were gone, then leaned towards the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6rDohPFcH
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"Snow," she murmured.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQxryu2wgX
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"What?" I asked.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WW6EYCNZs
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"The woman is standing outside in the snow." She pointed at the first circle of light. "Her dress is white. She’s looking away, like she’s waiting for someone." Mia glanced towards the passage where the couple had disappeared.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWHv8PyEkm
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I looked where she was pointing.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuwKws5H9t
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"Can you see her?" Mia asked.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxE3xVaaB5
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I took a step closer. From the doorway, I had been the only one who didn’t seem to understand what everyone was looking at.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6XnK1KHZM
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I wanted to be sure before I said anything.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EKBOoDNsa
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Before I could answer, Daniel called us over.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrquzwEbYHG
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"Come and see the middle one!" Daniel said. "It's a battle!"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfY0VWGRpf
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He was standing under the second lamp. Oliver went to join him.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNuknl5MKU
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"What do you see?" I asked.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPOU8k8lqr
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"Soldiers fighting in a field," Daniel said. "And a king on a white horse. He's wearing a gold crown."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaD2IF71KRg
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Oliver turned towards Daniel.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uz7FiRrxK
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"There's no horse," Oliver said. "The king is sitting on a throne. People are kneeling in front of him."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTvrG73Fh0
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Daniel laughed. "Stop joking."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnd9es0gJme
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"I'm not joking," Oliver said.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNppsVQpbGI
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They stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at exactly the same spot on the wall. Daniel leaned forward, then glanced sideways at Oliver, waiting for the joke to end.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVnumjN30E
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Daniel stopped smiling.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsl2RWNO2n
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Then they swapped places, Oliver squeezing past Daniel in the narrow space beneath the lamp.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoWKneuSbf
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"Well?" Mia asked.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FZY2iidIa
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"Battle," Daniel said.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQP0ab6gS8W
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"Throne," Oliver said.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3Exr4fPQ7
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Mia moved to one side, studying the wall at an angle. "Sometimes the surface—" She stopped, straightened, and looked again. Nobody asked her to finish.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzc5JCsLb5
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* * *
That was when two more women came into the hallway.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAln9ecjj1
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One wore a red scarf. The other carried a small black handbag. We stepped back to let them pass. Both kept their eyes on the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcD2TlZpvX1
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The woman in the red scarf stopped under the middle lamp — right next to Daniel. Close enough to touch his arm.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxe3AlfDww
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"Ah," she said. "The witch trial. Poor girl. Look at all those men around her."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9smGz9UCbB
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"A witch trial?" her friend said. "I thought it was a funeral."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwZMNjilwz
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Daniel stared at them, then back at the wall. He lowered his pointing hand.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUBZVzo2JT
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"The king is right there," he said, pointing again. This time he sounded as though he wanted someone to agree with him.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgoeNZFs9A
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Oliver stepped back towards the entrance and lifted his camera.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ENocglraY
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Mia stood a little behind Daniel. From where Oliver was standing, both of them were in his shot, along with the two women.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxKmNzmvD7
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"Excuse me," Oliver said to the woman in the red scarf. "Do you mind if I take a photo?"111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ85MXo92XM
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She did not answer. She did not even turn her head.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmOsVIUn3f
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Oliver waited. The woman continued studying the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtO8kt9QO3a
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He took the photo.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nnXCrPylt
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Click.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡephw1q8bZS
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The two women moved on to the third lamp.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJtd7xxaVS
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"The little village is so peaceful," said the woman in the red scarf. "And that boy with his lamb — how sweet."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mfo4Zku65
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"Lamb?" Oliver said. "I see a puppy."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOGhBWtMJ6
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The woman smiled at the wall, not at him.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgn2w9nyxQ
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"No," she said. "It's a lamb."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSyw6osKum
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Then they walked out of the hallway together.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRl2aPZszF
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* * *111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtD4WtDU01
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The floor creaked as Daniel moved closer to me. It creaked again when Oliver stepped forward.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMQcExo8Jy
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I listened until the women had gone around the corner.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkCxHDqYAo
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I had heard their voices all the way to the end of the passage.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFt92Of4Gt
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But not their footsteps.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCZAZCJkoL
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Mia went to stand under the third lamp. For a long time, she didn't speak.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvhSunIGWX
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"I don't see a boy," she finally said. "I see a woman standing on stone steps. A crowd is bowing their heads in front of her."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjj1VvgRFjS
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"I see a judge," said Daniel quietly. "Holding a scroll."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIZfUqIjyI
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Oliver stepped back from the wall.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGl8xrNbWtN
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"How can we all see something different?" he asked.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctSe66FBxj
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Nobody had an answer.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wf2nbDqVC
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Out in the main gallery, people were talking and laughing. I wanted to get back to them—to someone who would turn around when we spoke.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCHq0aXgUl
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"Let's go," I said.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHuG12KhTI
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"Kim's right," Mia said. "Come on."111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgimYBzech
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This time, nobody argued.111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8qslzux4s
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and then Add to home screen.